A young man is dead after a dramatic car fire in a parking lot downtown Chilliwack last Friday.
There was much speculation about what happened but it turned out not to be a crime scene, despite the fact that a large portion of the Safeway parking lot was blocked off with police tape for hours as the Chilliwack Fire Department and RCMP investigated.
Mounties are no longer investigating and a Chilliwack RCMP spokesperson diverted inquiries to the BC Coroners Service (BCCS).
“We won’t be releasing the name of the decedent,” BCCS media contact Andy Watson said. The BCCS has a new policy of not releasing names of people who die in public circumstances without a request from family to do so, even after the next of kin have been notified.
He said the reason is for the privacy of the deceased as per the Coroners Act and privacy legislation.
Watson did confirm the Coroner is investigating the death of a young male in the incident.
Family and friends of the 19-year-old mourned his death on Facebook over the weekend, but the suspected cause of death has not yet been officially reported.
Chilliwack firefighters were called to the scene of the car fire in the lot at First Avenue and Cheam Avenue just after 7 a.m. on Dec. 1.
Firefighters quickly doused the blaze, but not before the vehicle was completely gutted.
Some witnesses reported on social media they saw a body in the driver’s seat and after the fire was extinguished, the RCMP forensic identification unit was called in.
The car was covered in tents while police and fire investigated until just before noon.
@PeeJayAitch
paul.henderson@theprogress.com
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